Today's Star-Spangled Inspiration"Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others."- Amelia Earhart

Today's Flag StatusOur Flag flies at FULL STAFF in 48 of the 50 states. It's at HALF-MAST in Maryland and Missouri.

In Maryland, the United States Flag and Maryland State Flag be lowered to half-staff and returned to full-staff at sunset on Saturday, July 28 in honor ofFirefighter Nathan Flynn of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, who died in the line of duty on Monday, July 23, 2018.

​In Missouri, the US and State Flags are half-staff until sunset on July 27th in honor of the (17 dead) victims of the boating accident at Table Rock Lake.

Women to Honor Wednesday... Happy Birthday to Amelia Earhart - the "Queen of the Air", an American Pioneer ...

Amelia Earhart in Los Angeles in 1928 [public domain image]

On July 24th, 1897, Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas. In 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. And, in July of 1937, about three-quarters through her attempt to fly the longest round-the-world flight, her plane disappeared near Howland Island in the South Pacific Ocean. Neither the plane wreckage or her body was ever recovered. This has led to years and years of folks trying to figure out where her plane went down and how it happened.

For 'End of Watch Wednesday'[ for 7/15 - 21 ]

[ photos courtesy of ODMP and respective police departments ]

Sadly, we had 4 Police Officers who were killed in the line of duty last week.[from left to right]Officer Michael Chesna of the Weymouth Police Department (Massachusetts) was attacked, beaten and then shot by his assailant using Chesna's gunOfficer Branson Kaliloa of the Hawaii County Police Department was shot during a traffic stopOfficer Joseph Gomm of the Minnesota Corrections Department was beaten to death by a prisonerSenior Corporal Earl Jamie Givens of the Dallas Police Department was hit by a drunken driver while providing escort for another police officer's funeralPlease, pray for these officers and their friends and family in mourning.​[To leave a message and review the most detailed account of these law enforcement officers' line of duty death, please visit the Officer Down Memorial Page][This Fallen Peace Officers feature is powered by the:]

Thirty-five years ago, on July 24, 1983, one of the craziest MLB stories ever came to be. George Brett came up to bat with 2 outs in the 9th inning of a game versus the Yankees with his team, the Kansas City Royals trailing 4 to 3. George Brett then put on a show that stands out on top of all his Hall of Fame moments. He hit a home-run off famed reliever Goose Gossage to put the Royals ahead 5 to 4. But, then a protest filed by the Yankess manager and the umpire's decision to nullify Brett's home run turned into the outrageously crazy and funny (now) "Pine Tar Incident".

GO HERE to read an article with more details on this event and/or get a chuckle watching this video of George Brett flipping out ;)

​++++++++++++++++​Thanks for reviewing today's 'Reminders for Our Flag'- a service from the Flag Steward program

​​Now go 'Be a stud citizen' today by ... ... picking up and disposing of 2 pieces of trash that will helpkeep America beautiful !!!

​In God We Trust(Official motto of the United States of America)​###################​